Abstract: Walter Winchell gained acclaim as a journalist through newspaper, radio, and television. Most associated with his career are
his gossip columns and political commentary. The collection consists of correspondence, clippings and/or written pieces by
and/or about Winchell, and a small amount of publicity stills and photographs. Additionally there is documentation regarding
his television show,
The Walter Winchell File.

Open for research. STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact UCLA Library
Special Collections for paging information.

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Walter Winchell was born on April 7, 1897 in New York City, NY. In 1910, Winchell launched a career in vaudeville and spent
several years as part of the Newsboys Sextet. In 1915, Winchell teamed with Rita Greene in a song and dance act and they toured
until he enlisted in the Navy in 1917. Winchell officially started his journalism career in 1922, working for the
Vaudeville News. In 1924, he went to work for the
Evening Graphic, as dramatic critic and was given a Broadway column. By 1929, he was with the
New York Daily Mirror, where he contributed a gossip column to until 1963. He made his radio debut in 1930 on CBS's
Saks on Broadway, a 15-minute program devoted to show business news. In 1932, he began hosting
The Jergens Journal, a show that mixed entertainment news with matters of national importance.

Winchell gained fame as an American journalist and was the subject of frequent analysis, comment, and controversy. Despite
this, his entertainment news reports and his weekly radio program brought him a huge audience and great influence from the
1930s to the 1950s. He was frequently censored for expressing his hatred of the Nazi Party in Germany and unfavorable remarks
of certain Congressmen. After World War II, he was concerned with the spread of Communism and supported Senator Joseph McCarthy
and the "Red Scare" investigations. Winchell also hosted
The Walter Winchell Show (ABC, 1952-1960),
The Walter Winchell Show (NBC, 1956), and
The Walter Winchell File (1957-1958), which featured crime stories that Winchell had covered while working with the New York City Police Department.
He was also the unseen narrator of the television drama series
The Untouchables. Winchell died in Los Angeles, CA on February 20, 1972.

Scope and Content

The collection consists of materials related to the career of journalist, Walter Winchell. The bulk of the files comprise
correspondence, much of it incoming letters from a variety of individuals. Additionally, there are clippings and /or written
pieces by and/or about Winchell, and a small amount of publicity stills and photographs and documentation regarding his television
show,
The Walter Winchell File.

The files were purchased by the donor and are original files from Walter Winchell that were auctioned at Butterfields. Most
of the file titles have been maintained; a small number of file titles were supplied by the processor.